So college is preparing us for “real life.” Or, at least, a big person job. We all know that. But since students are busy cramming their heads full of mathematical theorems, historical dates and economic practices, there isn’t much time to learn and practice some other skills that are needed for a successful life outside of college.

I’m talking skills like cooking, cleaning, mending clothes and car repair. Our education is seriously lacking these. And while I don’t expect UW-Eau Claire to start implementing a “Things you need to know for life” course, these are skills that students need to take the initiative to learn themselves.

I’m sure there are a lot of us who took a consumer education class in middle or high school, and some of us who had a car repair class, too, but how much of that do we really remember? Unfortunately, probably not a lot. And that’s a shame, because knowing these skills is really helpful.

Recently opinion pieces spouting the need for home economics to be a required high school class have popped up in publications such as Mother Jones and The Boston Globe. Tom Philpott, a Mother Jones contributor, states in his piece “Why home economics should be mandatory” that “a revitalized, contemporary home economics for all genders, one capable of at least exposing youth to basic skills that so many adults lack: ‘to shop intelligently, cook healthily, [and] manage money’” is what is needed in high schools these days. While it’s not likely that any such course will be implemented in all public schools any time soon, it still leaves a lot of twenty-somethings in the dark as to cooking, sewing and car skills. College students need to take the initiative to practice and learn these skills themselves.

The skills that I espouse so much might seem a little archaic, but they’re not. How often do you find a perfect pair of jeans, but they’re made for someone six feet tall instead of five and a half? Hem those jeans (without taking them to mom or the tailor)! This is a pretty good tutorial, if you have access to a sewing machine. If you don’t have a sewing machine, use those steps, but with a simple back stitch, which I wrote a tutorial for back in January.

Looking at the more serious side of practical skills, cooking a homemade meal will not only be healthier for you, but cheaper. When you go to Target and buy a Lean Cuisine for two or three dollars you end up with way more sodium than you need in one meal, along with probably not a lot of flavor. Compare that to something you make at home, with staples that you can keep in your fridge, and, in the long run, you’ll save money and be healthier. Eventually, with a lot of cooking practice, you’ll be able to make meals that are just as good (or better) than ones from a nice restaurant — without the cost. And what’s great with modern technology is that us poor college kids can learn how to cook without buying an expensive cookbook.

I have to make a quick disclaimer: I still live at home. Which means that while I do like to cook, I don’t do it often. So when I think about what I’ll be able to do to feed myself in the future, I begin to worry. So, from now on, I’m taking the initiative to learn cooking skills, and I hope you do to.